Daniel's TV Blog

I like TV and so should you

Thursday, October 30, 2008

30 ROCKEFELLER PLZ, NEW YORK, NY 10112-0015

30 Rock returns tonight. Today I was having lunch with friend of DtvB, Matt and I was talking about an artical I recently read with details about the November sweeps shows. Matt asked if for 30 Rock is simply said, "30 Rock will be on in November." I'm sad 30 Rock got such a late start this year but perhaps it was all for the best. Tina Fey has become even more super famous thanks to her Sarah Palin sketches. She his been pimping out 30 Rock every chance she gets. I heard one interview where she was asked is she thought her impression were influencing public opinion of the GOP VP candidate. She replied, "I can't even influence people to watch 30 Rock." Good for you Tina!

30 Rock is the funniest show on TV right now. The premise is great (behind the scenes at a SNL type show). The stars are great (Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan and of course Tina Fey). The supporting characters are hilarious (especially Kenneth the Page). And the sexual tension slash friendship between Jack and Liz just makes the show. Tonight is special guest star Megan Mullaly.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hi, My Name Is Chuck

Somehow Monday night became the best night for television. Every network has great stuff. NBC has three hours of goodness, starting with Chuck. Chuck is the funniest spy show ever. The biggest issue I have is not all the crazy technology and gadgets, it's the fall-in-your-lap nature of a lot of the cases. Just like Murder, She Wrote and Knight Rider, the cases often come to Chuck. I mean really, how often to international terrorist walk into a Burbank electronics store? The unexpected thing about the show is the huge amount of great side characters. There's the best friend, the sister, Captain Awesome, Big Mike, the Asian chick, the Indian guy who was the assistant manager for a few episodes, and the crazy guy who was a Missile Command champion. Of course Agent Sarah and Major Casey are the other main characters. Major Casey is very hot.

Tonight had a really great joke. The mathematical solution to unlock the missile codes was encoded into a RUSH song.

Chuck: Morgan, do we have any RUSH CDs in the store?Morgan: No, but I've got them on my Zune.Chuck: You have a Zune?Morgan: Of course not, they're on my iPod

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Stargate: Atlantis Pays Homage to Boston Legal

Last night SGA had bottle episode. A bottle episode is one episode of the season that is produced for with the absolute minimal amount of money. Very few special effects, no special guest stars, and no location shoots. This is often done as a clip show. Most shows, I'm looking at you Star Trek, do them in lame or cheesy ways. For some reason Stargate: SG1 did them very well and now so does Stargate: Atlantis. The format for the clips this time was a trial of the Atlantis team for crimes against the people of the Pegasus Galaxy by a new coalition that has recently formed. Rarely do clip shows have significant character development, but this one did. Mr. Woosley, the current head of the Atlantis Expedition and the Emergency Medical Hologram, got to mount a defense for the Atlantis team. Not only did we get to see him use his high powered attorney roots, he also adeptly maneuvered the politics of this new council and Atlantis come out ahead in the end. We see now how the wormy civilian bureaucrat became the head of an intergalactic scientific and military expedition.

And the end of the episode Mr. Woosley and Col. Shepard shared a glass of Scotch and a cigar on the balcony of the control tower and just like the end of every episode of the current best courtroom show, Boston Legal. And of course Mr. Woosley and Denny Crane each have origins in Star Trek so there are even more parallels. I give the episode high marks.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Best Week Ever with Paul F Tompkins

If you watched BWE last week, they announced a format change for this week. It will now be Best Week Ever with Paul F Tompkis. I'm not quite sure how it is going to change the over all format of the show. Will there be other panelists? Will they keep the same segments: The Sizzler and In Case You Missed it? What about the current announcer guy?

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Kath and Kim

I love Molly Shannon and I love NBC comedies. For this reason I'm giving Kath and Kim a chance. Normally I don't like shows about unlikable or stupid characters. I stopped watching Seinfeld and Cheers because the characters were just too unlikable. I can't watch the office because it has unlikable and stupid characters in very uncomfortable situations. Kath and Kim looked like just another version of this from the cover. But underneath I found a very funny show about four people who go to the mall all the time. The second episode was much better than the pilot as Kath tried to compete in the Prom-enade at the Promenade, a showcase of hair, make-up, and fashion for the Prom. Look at Kim, she's a model, in space. OK, that joke was just for one person, but I'm still glad I put it in. The third episode is on tonight after Earl.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

You Are The Darlingiest Darling of Them All

If you aren’t watching Dirty Sexy Money, what’s wrong with you? It is a great guilty pleasure with some well known actors. The show revolves around The Darling Family, the richest family in the country. Or is it the world? I don’t remember. Either way it’s as if Warren Buffet, The Kennedys, and The Hiltons were all rolled up into one fictional family. And the man holding it all together is the family lawyer, the guy from Six Feet Under who isn’t Dexter. He relunctantly took the job after his dad, who was the previous lawyer, died under suspicious circumstances. Now the police have arrested Latisha, the Darling matriarch for the murder as she was having an affair with him, for 40 years. Clearly she’s not guilty and neither is the dad. It is too obvious. So who really did kill Dutch? My vote is on his long missing wife, Not-Dexter’s mom.

Another reason to watch is Lucy Lui as the prosecuting attorney. She balances out Blair Underwood as the business rival. I loved him on L.A. Law but I don’t like him in this role.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Fridge

It's that show about strange happening in your refrigerator. It's spooky. No, it's really Fringe on FOX tonight. Fringe is the new show by JJ Abrams and everyone loves comparing it to his previous projects like LOST, Alias, and Felicity. I don't think there were many melting faces on Felicity. The connection I'd like to draw between them is they are all one word/name titles.

But anyway Fringe has been on for a while now but I still don't know if I like it or could leave it. The mad scientist is a refreshing character for television. The guy from Dawson's Creek is good. The blonde chick is a believable FBI agent. I'm not sure if the show is going to be too gorey.

Even though this show takes place in Boston, it is shot in New York. Lots of shows are filmed in New York City these days thanks to a nifty tax incentive. It's easy to film in Brooklyn and angle out the Manhattan skyline and make it look like any aging East Coast city.

There's a few things I love about the show. The first is the huge floating letters establishing the location of the new scene. The second is the bumpers to the commercial break telling me how long it will be. "Fringe will return in 70 seconds." Sometimes I don't even grab the remote.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Terminated: The Sarah Palin Chronicles

Of course it is the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I can just hope Palin gets terminated in the voting booth. The Terminator show is on again tonight. If you like action shows, this is the show for you. It's a little more realistic than Prison Break and 24. The cast is great. Brian Austin Green is a great addition as John Conner's uncle Derek. His brother was Reese from the original movie. The show is basically a terminator of the week premise. The terminators tend to get continuously sent back for specific missions, like kill the guy who will save John Connor's life or meltdown the nuclear plant which becomes a asset for the human resistance in the future. In addition there's a new T-1000 shape shifting Terminator whose goal is to get Skynet online. Since it can't bring any technology back it is reverse engineering the other dead Terminators taken out be Sarah, John, Derek, and their own Terminator. I don't know why she didn't come back with her own Terminator as spare parts. Unless she is working on a different agenda. After the machine turn against the humans they always eventually turn against each other.

The last new episode two weeks ago was presented with minimal commercial breaks by Ram. Their commercials were a reality show where four teams of hot guys compete in the Ram Challenge. I like the firemen team.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Womanizer vs. Hot N Cold

I TiVo VH1's Top 20 Countdown each week. I like to keep up with what's new and hot. Each week they usually debut a brand new song which viewers can start voting on for next week. Last week it was Katy Perry's newest Hot N Cold which was #10 this week. This week it was Britney's Womanizer. The videos are surprising similar.

Katy Perry chases her fiance around the city after he ran away at the alter. She appears as a sexy bride, a sexy pop star, and a sexy street dancer. Britney chases her boyfriend around his work day she thinks is cheater on her (maybe?). She appears as a sexy office worker, a sexy waitress, and a sexy chauffer.

So which one is better? Here are the pros of each video.

Hot N Cold

It's a better song. I have it on my iPhone and I've listened to it like 10 times this weekend.

It's clear why she is chasing him.

Katy Perry co-wrote the song.

The Maid of Honor is clearly a drag queen.

Womanizer

The guy is super hot and he pals around with known homosexual Lance Bass.

Palin Does Have a Sense of Humor

Yesterday I proposed that Palin was keeping a low profile to avoid all the ridicule, especially from Tina Fey. I must recant after watching the opening sketch from last night's SNL. Tina was of course back as the governor doing her first press conference. In the middle they cut back stage to the real Sarah Palin standing with Lorne Michaels watching the monitor. Alec Baldwin came in and was super funny like always. In the end Sarah took the stage and delivered the "Live From New York It's Saturday Night!" line. I'm worried this might make her more likable and improve her numbers. Even though she has a sense of humor, she is still a dumb ass.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live has never been hotter. Everyone is asking "will there be a new episode this week?" or "why wasn't it on last week?" Of course the reason for the renewed interest is Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. She isn't even a cast member anymore. Most people agree her line, "Katie I'd like to use one of my lifelines" was one of the funniest moments on TV this year. She has said she doesn't want to do this much longer. I think the reason Palin hasn't done anything lately is because she gets so destroyed by Tina Fey. I love Tina Fey

Friday, October 17, 2008

Sanctuary

It's not very often that an entirely new concept gets a green light for a series on SciFi. Sanctuary has it's third episode tonight. Not only is this an original idea (not a spin-off, movie adaption, or re-imagining) it is using an entirely new production process. The show has its basic sets but many of the large spaces and almost all the outside shots are totally virtual. This allows them to have these huge sets without the cost. Babylon 5 did a lot of this but this is almost entirely done virtually.

The other thing you should know about Sanctuary is the recycling bin for SciFi actors. Obviously Col. Carter is the main character, the ageless Dr. Mangus. The daughter and the tech guy both had small recurring roles on BSG. The Jack the Ripper recurring bad guy played several characters on Stargate: Atlantis including Todd the Wraith. Maj. Lorne also from Atlantis plays the skeptical police detective in the pilot. And Dualla from BSG also showed up in the pilot as the new guy's ex. She may be back.

Speaking of the new guy, Dr. Zimmerman. He's the guy in the photo. Hopefully he'll take his shirt off more. Once again we see a SciFi show bring in "the outside guy" so that the secrets can be explained to him and the audience at the same time.

What are the secrets? What is the Sanctuary? It's a little part Buffy and a little part Heroes. People have powers. Mutants creatures roam the Earth preying on people. Magic exists. The Sanctuary is where the outcasts come to escape persecution or where they baddies get locked down.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Life on Mars

Tonight is the second episode of ABC’s Life on Mars. It’s not about life on Mars but it is kinda SciFi. Kinda. It’s based on the British show of the same name which ran for 16 episodes. The name comes from the song our hero Sam Tyler was listening to when he was hit by a car and woke up in the past, Life on Mars by David Bowie. David Bowie is the Sovereign, btw. Much the way Mad Men runs on the joke of how lame and different the early 60’s were, Life on Mars exploits the differences with the 70’s and now. But having Sam Tyler as the “outside guy” gives the opportunity for some additional explanation. The “outside guy” is a staple of the SciFi genre and this is SciFi, kinda.

The British version used a formula for each episode. The new case each week was somehow related to future Sam. It was remarkably well done. Also there’s the arc of how Sam got to the past. He hears voices from the future from the phone or the TV or the radio. Is he crazy? Is he in a coma dreaming this all up? Did he actually travel to the past? That’s the fun of this show. I’m very interested to see how they continue the show that ended after two seasons. This show is already pulling huge numbers. Harvey Keitel is a perfect choice for the gruff captain who plays by his own rules. If you missed it, watch the first episode on abc.com and don’t miss tonight.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Mother Superior Is Not One of Your FANS

Pushing Daisies is on tonight. It is my favorite show right now. ABC really has some great stuff. This season Olive Snook went to live in a convent after the pressure of keeping everyone’s secrets got to her. Her Mother Superior looked familiar so I looked her up on the internets. It turns out she is none other than Mommy Dearest daughter and Other's sheriff, Diana Scarwid. Tonight the Pie Maker and Emerson Cod go undercover at said convent. There’s a death at the nunnery and they are on the case. Hopefully this will mean Olive will be returning to the Pie Hole. Or at least she’ll sing again. More singing!

The Mommy Dearest photo was from an outdoor movie in New Orleans taken with my iPhone.

About Me

I love TV. Movies are great but there's so much more story and character development that can be accomplished in episodic television. Since I started unwittingly studying television over 25 years ago I've noticed many patterns and advancements. I will share my views, opinions, and TV news several times a week. Please leave your own comments.